I Heart Job Offers Resume T-shirt by BlackBirdTees A
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Writing a resume is simple. Writing a good great fantastic resume is not. Anyone can put their experiences down on paper but it is how you do it that is really important. Presentation matters as much in your resume as it does at your interview, a sloppy resume could cost you a chance at scoring an initial interview.

Your resume needs to exhibit professionalism and be representative of your experience and potential as a prospective employee. You need to ensure that it accurately and engagingly represents your skill set. It's about putting your best foot forward, presenting the best version of you and creating a knock out first impression!

Keep in mind the objectives of a hiring manager: they want to entrust someone with a role in their company and they want that someone to be a superstar candidate! If you cannot do a good job of representing your own experiences ... could you really expect someone to consider you as the ideal fit for the job? If writing or formatting is not your area of expertise than enlist help - a friend, relative or an expert (check out your local paper, in the jobs section) - this is your chance to sell yourself as an asset to any potential employer. Your resume needs to reflect you as the smart, professional, creative individual that you are. Below are a few of the basics to keep in mind when tailoring your resume...

Basics

Contact Info. Use a professional email address, preferably eg. firstname.lastname@gmail.com rather than katierulz77@gmail.com or angel_eyes_xox1986@hotmail.com. Avoid numbers, dashes, underscores, nicknames, random combinations of letter. Even if this means creating a separate email contact explicitly for the purpose of employment applications. You should also include your home & mobile phone numbers and full residential address on your resume. You want to be taken as a serious contender for the position and your contact details play a part of your personal representation at this stage of the application process.

Photographs. Unless you're applying for a job as a model, you shouldn't be including a photograph in your resume. An employer does not need to see a head shot to be able to assess your professional capabilities. If your qualifications and experience are appropriate to the position that you are applying for, you can prove your standard of presentation in the interview.

Personal Details. Similarly, your marital status and other personal details of such nature (ie. Children, ethnicity, age) should have no bearing on your suitability as an employee and as such should not be included in a professional resume. The jury is still out on the relevance of hobbies/interests. Some argue that it adds a dimension to the projection of yourself as a 'whole person' rather than merely as a potential cog in the machinery of the business.

Verbosity & Descriptive Precision. Take care with suitability in wording of previous experience . This does not mean misrepresenting the facts, rather, simply being selective with inclusion of details. For instance, if you are applying for an administrative position and in your last job you were tasked with opening the incoming mail and franking the outgoing, an apt way of wording this would be "Mail distribution and coordination".

Explain Gaps. If you have been traveling or had periods where you did not work, this is fine but should be explained. Again, keeping wordiness in check, a simple general explanation will suffice.

Proof Read & Spell Check. This is of key importance. Attention to detail and ability to communicate effectively are vital tools for almost all types careers. It is important to exhibit these skills in your resume. Lack of thorough proofing can result in simple mistakes that cost you a place on a candidate short list.

File Name. Simplicity is key. YournameCV or YournameResume will do just fine. Don’t leave in details like 'long version', 'version2', 'Resume2008', 'CustomerserviceResume'. While this may help you find the file on your PC, it looks unprofessional when seen by any but you.

Formatting

Continuity. Check that your fonts, spacing, bullet style, paragraph structure, written context and other formatting remain uniform throughout entire document.

Fonts. Nothing fancy or gimmicky. As a general rule, stick to the basics: Arial, Verdana or Tahoma. They are widely used and easy to read. Bullets. As with fonts the general rule of stick to basics applies when making lists. Stick with a simple dash or round bullet rather than using clip art images or gaudy arrows.

Colours. Generally, black text on a white page is the best option. It is simple to read from and indicative of professionalism. Colour in a resume is often used with detrimental result to the author due to overuse and misuse. If you choose to use colour, try and keep it simple. It is a good idea to stick to just one or two colours (aside from black and white) to maintain simplicity and clarity.

Length & White Space. Be aware of the importance of being conciseness and relevance. It is important that you cover your strengths and experience in a form that will not be tediously read by hiring managers who often have quite a number of resumes to get through. Make your first impression just that, impressive, but succinct. Also pay attention to white space, for instance, there is no need to have a title page containing just your name, contact details and nothing else. This is an unnecessary waste of space.

Templates. Try to avoid using the templates found in MS Word/Publisher etc. This shows a lack of effort and originality. You want your resume to stand out from the pack, not blend in!

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when creating your resume is that this is your only chance to make a first impression, so take your time writing and formatting. Ask for help if you need it. Keep it simple, succinct and professional. Marvel the finished product as a true reflection of your professional abilities.